Jason Dean Bennison (born 1 September 1973), better known by his stage name J.D. Fortune, is a Canadian singer and songwriter. He was the frontman of the Australian
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band
INXS
INXS (a phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian rock band, formed as the Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney. The founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboardist Andrew Farriss, drummer Jon Farriss, gu ...
for six years after winning the first season of the CBS reality television series '' Rock Star: INXS''; in 2005, replacing its late lead singer
Michael Hutchence
Michael Kelland John Hutchence (22 January 1960 – 22 November 1997) was an Australian singer and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lead singer and lyricist of the rock band INXS from 1977 until his death in 1997. The band sold over 50 ...
. After the show, Fortune fronted INXS through an extended -year world tour supporting the release of the album ''
Switch
In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type o ...
'', INXS's first studio album with Fortune, and the only album with new INXS material after Hutchence's death.
''Switch'' also marked Fortune's only album with the band before parting ways in August 2011 due to creative differences and to work on his solo projects.
Early life
J.D. Fortune was born Jason Bennison on 1 September 1973 in
Mississauga
Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...
,
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
and raised in Salt Springs, Pictou County, Nova Scotia to Robert Bennison and Sandra (née Fortune). He also has a younger sister, Sarah-Jane, and a dog named Presley (named after
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
)
Bennison's parents divorced when he was five years old and he mostly spent his earlier years with his grandparents while his mom worked shifts for a living. Bennison was his estranged father's name; he adopted his mother's maiden name upon starting his career in music.
He had his early education at
Cawthra Park Secondary School
Cawthra Park Secondary School, also known as CPSS, is a public high school built in 1972 located in Southeast Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is one of two regional arts schools in the Peel District School Board. Cawthra Park provides instruct ...
and
West Pictou Consolidated School
West Pictou Consolidated School (WPCS) is a Canadian public school serving the central-western part of Pictou County, Nova Scotia.
The school is located in the rural community of Lyons Brook. WPCS had 440 students enrolled in grades K-8 as of 20 ...
but dropped out before graduating after being offered a job on a television show in
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
.
He began to show his interest in music and performing at a very young age after finding the soundtrack for
Kurt Russell
Kurt Vogel Russell (born March 17, 1951) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor before transitioning to leading roles as an adult in various genres such as action adventures, science-fiction, westerns, romance films, co ...
's movie
Elvis
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Presley's sexuall ...
. He stated, “That was my video game, my TV, my everything back then, I just listened to that album all day long, every day.”
Fortune held a number of jobs before finding his way into the music industry; he worked as an extra on the
Jerry O'Connell
Jeremiah O'Connell (born February 17, 1974) is an American actor and TV show host. He is known for his roles as Quinn Mallory in the television series '' Sliders'', Andrew Clements in '' My Secret Identity'', Vern Tessio in the film '' Stand by ...
children's show
My Secret Identity
''My Secret Identity'' is a television series starring Jerry O'Connell and Derek McGrath. Originally broadcast from October 9, 1988 to May 25, 1991 on CTV in Canada, the series also aired in syndication in the United States. It was later shown ...
, worked at a martial art school as a teacher and an
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
impersonator at a local karaoke bar, and briefly worked as a truck driver. At one point he served in the
Canadian army
The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also re ...
as a radio operator for two years.
Career
Early music career
Fortune performed at the Friendship Festival and at
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
's
SkyDome
Rogers Centre (originally SkyDome) is a retractable roof stadium in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at the base of the CN Tower near the northern shore of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989 on the former Railway Lands, it is home to ...
in front of 50,000 people. He also worked as an entertainer and pop songwriter for an
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
TV show and Elvis Presley impersonator. He fronted a band named JUICe, which recorded an album named ''In Retrospect''.
Fortune also recorded the song "Always Be in the Game" for the ''
Beyblade
Beyblade (Japanese: ベイブレード ''Beiburēdo'') is a battling spinning top toyline and multimedia franchise developed by Takara Tomy. Beyblades were inspired by the old "beigoma" spinning tops in olden Asia. The first modern Beyblade was ...
'' V-Force: Let It Rip soundtrack and "Swing Low Let It Rip" for the ''Beyblade'' anime series.
''Rock Star: INXS''/INXS
Fortune was living in his car, under a bridge, when he applied for and was selected as a contestant on
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
's TV show '' Rock Star: INXS''. On September 20, 2005, after an eleven-week televised audition process, Fortune won and joined INXS.
INXS, with Fortune, released their only album of original content with him, ''
Switch
In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type o ...
'' in November 2005. Three singles from the album were released over the next twelve months including the track "
Pretty Vegas
"Pretty Vegas" is a song by Australian rock band INXS. It was released in September 2005 as the lead single from their 11th studio album, ''Switch'', and the first with new Canadian lead singer J.D. Fortune, winner of the '' Rock Star: INXS'' ...
" which was co-written by Fortune and INXS's
Andrew Farriss
Andrew Charles Farriss (born 27 March 1959) is an Australian rock musician and multi-instrumentalist best known as the keyboardist, backing vocalist, and main composer for rock band INXS. He released his debut solo album in 2021.
Career
Andre ...
, amongst others. The week of 25 February 2006, "Pretty Vegas" reached its highest charting at Number 7 on the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks.
On 16 February 2009, Fortune revealed in an interview with ''
Entertainment Tonight Canada
''Entertainment Tonight Canada'' (commonly shortened to ''ET Canada'') is a Canadian entertainment news television series that aired on the Global Television Network from 2005 to 2023. Its branding and format were based on the American entertainm ...
'' that INXS fired him from the band with a handshake at a Hong Kong airport. Fortune admitted to heavy cocaine use during the latest INXS tour and acknowledged that his drug habit had likely contributed to INXS's decision. Fortune stated he had been off cocaine for the past two years; at the time, he was living out of his car and had put all his remaining money into his solo album ''The Death of a Motivational Speaker''. Former INXS manager and now record company head
Chris Murphy
Christopher Scott Murphy (born August 3, 1973) is an American lawyer, author, and politician serving as the junior United States senator from the state of Connecticut since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the U ...
responded at the time by saying that Fortune had never been fired by the band, but that the band was reluctant to continue working with him because of the drug-use allegations.
However, later in 2010, Fortune performed with INXS several times. On 24 February 2010, Fortune performed with INXS at the
Vancouver Olympics
The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...
in a sold-out performance. On 10 July 2010, INXS, fronted by Fortune, performed at an outdoor concert for an estimated 13,000 people at the
2010 Sucrogen Townsville 400
The 2010 Sucrogen Townsville 400 was the eighth race meeting of the 2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series. It featured Races 15 and 16 of the series and was held on the weekend of 9–11 July at the Townsville Street Circuit, in Townsville, ...
in
Townsville
The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...
, Australia. On 16 July 2010, Fortune fronted INXS at an outdoor concert at the Mangrove Resort in
Broome, Western Australia
Broome, also known as Rubibi by the Yawuru, Yawuru people, is a coastal Pearl hunting, pearling and tourist town in the Kimberley (Western Australia), Kimberley region of Western Australia, north of Perth. The town recorded a population of 14,6 ...
. On 1 September 2010, Fortune and INXS performed before 17,000 attendees of VMware's 2010
VMWorld
VMworld is a global multi-cloud conference, hosted by VMware. It is the largest multi-cloud-specific event. It has been held in San Diego, California in 2004; Las Vegas, Nevada in 2005, 2008, 2011, 2016, 2017, and 2018; Los Angeles, California in ...
at the
Moscone Center
The George R. Moscone Convention Center (), popularly known as the Moscone Center, is the largest convention and exhibition complex in San Francisco, California, United States. The complex consists of three main halls spread out across three bl ...
, San Francisco. On 25 September 2010, INXS and Fortune headlined the pre-match entertainment at the
AFL Grand Final
The AFL Grand Final is an Australian rules football match to determine the premiers for the Australian Football League (AFL) season. Prior to 1990 it was known as the VFL Grand Final, as the league was then known as the Victorian Football Leag ...
Event in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
, Australia. During a radio interview prior to the performance in
Broome, Western Australia
Broome, also known as Rubibi by the Yawuru, Yawuru people, is a coastal Pearl hunting, pearling and tourist town in the Kimberley (Western Australia), Kimberley region of Western Australia, north of Perth. The town recorded a population of 14,6 ...
,
Kirk Pengilly
Kirk Pengilly ( ; born 4 July 1958) is an Australian musician and member of the Australian rock group INXS. Kirk plays saxophone and guitar, and also performs as a backing vocalist.
Early career
Pengilly moved to Sydney in 1966, and became best ...
confirmed that Fortune was a permanent member of INXS.
On September 29, 2010, INXS announced an Australian tour for early 2011. The tour, with JD Fortune, included eight performances across Australia from 25 January 2011 to 12 February 2011. This was followed by three performances in South America:
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
, Argentina,
Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...
, Chile and
Iquique
Iquique () is a port List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune in northern Chile, capital of both the Iquique Province and Tarapacá Region. It lies on the Pacific coast, west of the Pampa del Tamarugal, which is part of the At ...
, Chile in February 2011. JD Fortune and INXS returned to Canada for a performance at the
Sound Academy
Rebel (commonly stylized as REBEL) (originally the Docks Nightclub & Concert Theater and then Sound Academy) is a nightclub and concert venue located on the Polson Pier in Toronto, Canada. Relaunched in October 2016 as Rebel Night Club, the comple ...
in
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
Ontario on 2 March 2011.
On 19 October 2010, INXS released the single "
The Stairs
The Stairs are an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1990 by vocalist and bassist Edgar "Summertyme" Jones, guitarist Ged Lynn and drummer Paul Maguire.
The band released one album and a handful of singles, prior to Lynn's departure ...
", featuring Fortune (the original version of "The Stairs" had appeared on INXS' 1990 album, '' X'') on
iTunes
iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
Canada. This tune was followed by the November 2010 release of an album of primarily previously released songs as performed by a number of artists. The album, ''
Original Sin
Original sin () in Christian theology refers to the condition of sinfulness that all humans share, which is inherited from Adam and Eve due to the Fall of man, Fall, involving the loss of original righteousness and the distortion of the Image ...
'', was released in Australia and Canada. A bonus track, "Love Is" with Fortune was released in Australia through iTunes.
In 2011, INXS with Fortune completed shows in Australia, UK, Portugal, South America, Canada, and the United States. In September 2011, Fortune and INXS announced that they had mutually agreed to go their separate ways and pursue different artistic projects. Later Fortune said, "I had no idea I had left INXS the second time to be honest with you. I woke up 18 August and I had to find out from their web site, which, to this day, I still find bizarre."
Solo music
In March 2010, Fortune announced that a previously unreleased solo work, entitled "One More Day", would be used in CBS television on-air campaign for a new television series ''
Miami Medical
''Miami Medical'' (formerly titled ''Miami Trauma'') is an American medical drama television series that aired on CBS from April 2 to July 2, 2010. It follows the professional and private lives of a team of trauma surgeons.
The series was create ...
''. The series aired on 2 April 2010. "One More Day" is a previously unreleased track from a new CD that is being worked on. In September 2011, J.D. Fortune announced that he was developing several projects as a solo artist that were on hold until he had completed his obligations with the INXS tour.
On 8 February 2011, Fortune announced via Twitter that his song "Wicked World" would begin airing in a promotion for an episode of the CBS Television program ''
Criminal Minds
''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created by Jeff Davis that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005. It follows a group of criminal profilers who work for the FBI as members of its Behavioral ...
''.
On 10 July 2012, he played his first live performance for the public with his band Fortune. Some of the members of Fortune are fellow Canadians from the band Crush Luther. The show was at
Stone Pony
The Stone Pony is a music venue in Asbury Park, New Jersey, known for launching the careers of many New Jersey music legends, including Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, and Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes.